Vehicle top-bow hinge.



C. L. BAIR.

VEHICLE TOP BOW HINGE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, 1911.

Patented Mar. 10,1914;

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VEHICLE TOP BOW HINGE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, 1911,

Patented Mar. 10, 19%

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UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE L. BAIR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AUTO SPECIALTIES MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

VEHICLE TOP-BOW HINGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CLARENCE L. BAIR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Vehicle Top-Bow Hinges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a device for use in connection with the construction of a collapsible vehicle top for carriages, automobiles and the like.

The object of the invention is to provide such a device which will, without increasing the number of supports rising from the vehicle body toward the top, increase the number and frequency of the supporting bows, thus preventing sagging of the top.

The invention consists in such a device which can be readily placed in position with reference to the top, adjusted both during and after construction of the top; which is satisfactory in operation and not readily liable to get out of order.

In the drawings, in which similar numerals indicate the same parts throughout the several views; Figure 1 is a perspective View of an automobile body and top, the latter being provided with a device of this invention, the details, however, not showing because of being covered by the material of the top. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the same vehicle shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the cover or top being removed and the View being taken from such a position that the device of this invention is clearly shown. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the car of Fig. 1 showing the top in lowered or collapsed position. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the bows forming the top in lowered or collapsed position, the cover material being removed. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the bow hinge. Fig. 6 is a detail of the hinge, particularly of its stub end. Fig. 7 is an end view of the hinge of Fig. 6, showing the method of applying wooden parts preparatory to driving the wood covered stub end into a hollow bow socket of the vehicle top. Fig. 8 is a modified form of construction showing the method of securing i are forwardly inclined shift bow sockets 22.

The sockets 20 are connected together at their top by a bow proper 24 normally lying at and supporting the rear of the cover 26 of the vehicle (Fig. 2.) Similarly connecting the shift bow sockets 22 is a bow 28 sup porting the forward end of the cover 26.

The upright bow sockets 16 and 18 may be made in any of the well known forms of construction, either hollow metal, solid wood, or fiat metal. The former construction is here shown. Secured to the top of each of said how sockets is a metallic hinge block or base 80 having out in its upper surface a U shaped recess leaving the front and rear walls 34 through which pass pins or screws 36 on which are pivoted pintles 38 and 40. The pintle 38 is U shaped with two approximately parallel plates 42 and 44, between which the end of a bow 46 fits, as shown in the right hand half of Fig. 5. The bow end is secured by suitable means, such, for instance, as the bolt or rivet 48 and screws 50. Similarly pintle 40 is U shaped forming two parallel members 52 and 54, between which fits the bow member 56 secured in said position by suitable means, such as the rivet 58 and the screws 60. The lower portion or base of each pintle 38 and 40 is provided with faces 62 adapted to bear against the bottom 64 of the U shaped recess 34 on hinge base 30 so as to prevent the bow members 46 and 56 from swinging into contact with each other when they are brought to the position shown in Fig. 4, where they are approximately perpendicular to the central axis of hinge and its stub end 66; this so that when the cover material of the top 26 is folded to the position of Fig. 4 the cover material on the respective bows 46 and 56 will not come into too close contact with the material on the adjacent bow and thus be injured by rubbing thereon when the vehicle is in motion.

In the preferred form of construction the hinge bases 30 are secured to hollow vertical members or how socket ends 16 and 18. In this construction the devices of Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are used, in which the shanks or stub ends 66 of the hinge 30 are inserted between wooden members 82 which are attached to the stub by screws 7 8 and 80 passing through holes 74 and 7 6 provided for the purpose. These Wooden members 82 taper very slightly, practically imperceptibly, as shown in the drawings, from top to botom. The entire device 806682 thus constructed is forcibly driven into the hollow upper end 84 of the bow socket ends 16 or 18 as the case may be. In order to give the member 66 both strength and lightness it is cut away in the curved lines 83 against which the curved upper ends of the blocks 82 rest.

The wooden members 82 are necessary in order to secure a good, non rattling contact between the hinge device and the bow socket ends 16 and 18 and the screws 7 8 and 80 are important in preventing the slipping of the wooden members 82 on stub 66 with reference to each other during the process of driving it into the hollow end 84 of bow socket ends 16 and 18, which slipping tends to wedge the parts in casing 84 before the plug has gone in as far as necessary. Were it possible to make the curved faces 83 square these screws would not be as necessary. After the parts named have been driven into the end 84 of the bow socket ends 16 or 18 to the position shown in Fig. 5 the curtain fastener or button 72 may then be inserted in desired position through one of the slots 68 or 70 provided for the purpose before the hinge stub is finally put together so as to do away with the necessity of boring through the metal member 66 for each button.

When the members 16 and 18 are of wood or of solid metal, instead of hollow metal, as in the preferred construction just described, the structure of Fig. 8 may be used, in which the stub end 66 of the Preferred construction is made in the form of the part 86 of Fig. 8 and fitted against the upright member 88 of the form shown in Fig. 8 and the two are secured together by the member 90 having the shoulder 92 and the screw threads 94 entering the metal of the part 86. The screw threads mechanically engage the metal of the part 86 and forcibly draw the shoulder 92 against the upper end 88 of the upright members 16 and 18, thereby holding all of the parts together. The members 90 may be made, if desired, with an extension bracket 95 on which parts of the top,

not here in issue and, therefore, not shown, may be supported if desired.

In the form of top shown in the drawings, the distance between uprights 16 and 18 is longer than the distance between the parts 16 and 20 and that between parts 18 and 22. For this reason it is desirable that the points of support of the cover member 26 be somewhat farther toward the center of the car than would be the case if the bows 56 and 46 were made the same length. Accordingly the bows 56 are made longer than the bows 46 and when all of the parts are assembled, as in Fig. 2, and the top is in extended position, the cover material 26 is supported at six substantially equal intervals from end to end.

In order to adjust the tension of the top cover member 26 it is highly important that some method be provided for adjusting the bows 46 and 56 in their extended position, as shown in Fig. 2, and this is accomplished by providing the pintles 38 and 40 respectively with faces 96 adapted to engage the screws 98 inserted in the hinge base 30. These screws are then inserted at approximately the angular position of the bows when in extended position and are provided with fiat heads 100 so as to give a full, broad bearing against the faces 96 heretofore referred to and thus give the bow members adequate support when the top is in extended position. The adjustment of these screws may be made with an ordinary screw driver whenever the top is folded up partially or wholly toward the position of Fig. 4 so that the faces 96 are not in sufficient contact with the screws 98 to interfere with the action of a screw driver. By adjusting these screws 98 in and out, as necessary, the respective bows 46 and 56, of which there are four, may be each independently adjusted as is necessary to preserve a uniform tension on the cover 26 and thus prevent sagging, and this non-sagging feature is aided very materially by the fact that the construction shown provides six lines of support for the top instead of four without increasing the number of supports extending upward from the brackets 12 and 14. In an automobile of the ordinary size this construction reduces the middle span in the top to between sixteen and twentyfour inches, thereby rendering it easily possible to support the top without sagging.

In cars of the type here illustrated the pull of the straps 29 tends to shove the bow sockets 18 out of the vertical and toward the rear of the car. By adjusting the screws 98 controlling the front bow 46 this strain may be relieved and the front bow socket straightened up.

The claim is In a device of the class described, a hinge base, a pair of how carrier members pivoted In witness whereof, I have hereunto subto the base at points adjacent to each other scribed my name in the presence of two witand adapltled to swing on said pivots through nesses. apprecia e angles, means preventing the i carrier members swinging nearer than a CLARENCE BAIR' predetermined distance toward each other, Witnesses:

and means for independently adjusting the DWIGHT B. GHEEVER,

arc of swing of each carrier member. EDWARD F. OBRLEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

